Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) Lowered to "Hold" Rating by Phillip Securities

Key Points

• Phillip Securities downgraded Palo Alto Networks to “Hold” from “Moderate Buy,” though the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 39 Buy ratings, 11 Hold ratings, and a consensus price target of $385.67.
• PANW shares opened at $336.98, with a market capitalization of $274.64 billion and a notably high price-to-earnings ratio of 660.76.
• The company exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.02 in EPS and $3.41 billion in revenue, with revenue up 34.5% year over year; insiders have sold 38,258 shares worth approximately $11.05 million over the past 90 days.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Phillip Securities from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

PANW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Palo Alto Networks from $290.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $394.00 price target (up from $387.00) on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Scotiabank cut shares of Palo Alto Networks from a "sector outperform" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Northland Securities set a $360.00 target price on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Palo Alto Networks in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Thirty-nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Palo Alto Networks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $385.67.

Palo Alto Networks Price Performance

Palo Alto Networks stock opened at $336.98 on Monday. Palo Alto Networks has a 52-week low of $139.57 and a 52-week high of $398.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06. The firm's fifty day moving average is $350.13 and its 200 day moving average is $257.94. The company has a market cap of $274.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 660.76, a PEG ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.91.

Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 1st. The network technology company reported $1.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.35 billion. Palo Alto Networks had a net margin of 2.67% and a return on equity of 8.50%. The business's revenue was up 34.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.95 EPS. Palo Alto Networks has set its FY 2027 guidance at 4.160-4.190 EPS and its Q1 2027 guidance at 0.960-0.980 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Palo Alto Networks will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Palo Alto Networks

In other news, Director James J. Goetz sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.90, for a total transaction of $5,598,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,598,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Josh D. Paul sold 900 shares of Palo Alto Networks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $373.68, for a total transaction of $336,312.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 72,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,085,821.12. This represents a 1.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 38,258 shares of company stock worth $11,050,673 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC increased its holdings in Palo Alto Networks by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Plimoth Trust Co. LLC now owns 22,728 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $7,751,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in Palo Alto Networks by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 3,982 shares of the network technology company's stock valued at $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 10,020 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $3,417,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Palo Alto Networks in the 2nd quarter worth $272,000. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Palo Alto Networks by 22.3% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 3,337 shares of the network technology company's stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.82% of the company's stock.

About Palo Alto Networks

Palo Alto Networks, Inc is a cybersecurity company that provides security products and services to businesses, governments and other organizations worldwide. The company helps customers protect networks, cloud environments, endpoints, applications and connected devices from cyber threats.

Its portfolio includes next-generation firewalls and network security technologies, as well as cloud-delivered security solutions such as Prisma Access and Prisma Cloud. Palo Alto Networks also offers Cortex products for endpoint protection, security operations, threat detection and response, and automation.

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